HATTIESBURG — It wasn't too much of a surprise, but it was enough to ruffle the rankings.

Louisiana Tech established itself as the cream of Conference USA over the weekend, taking down reigning big dogs North Texas with a 29-27 upset in Denton. Now 3-1 on the year with its only loss coming against a top-5 LSU team, the road to the Conference USA championship game seems to run through Ruston, with North Texas needing a little bit of help to get back to the championship for the second year in a row.

But that wasn't the only major upset in the C-USA over the weekend involving a team that played for the league championship last season. There's plenty of moving in this week's Conference USA power rankings with a new No. 1, a few teams taking tumbles and slow starters trying to salvage their years.

Take a look at the rankings.

1. Louisiana Tech (3-1, 1-0 C-USA, Last week: No. 2)

Take down the No. 1 team? There's a good chance you'll climb to the top. Louisiana Tech did so this week with its upset over North Texas. The Bulldogs terrorized UNT quarterback Mason Fine, sacking him five times and coming away with 10 total tackles for loss to pull off the upset. Senior defensive lineman Jaylon Ferguson's six sacks tie him for fourth in the country and put him half a sack off the C-USA lead.

2. North Texas (4-1, 0-1 C-USA, Last week: No. 1)

North Texas doesn't take too big of a tumble after its close loss. After all, the Mean Green are still the only team in the conference with four wins and still boast the league's best offense, averaging 44 points per game. The road to recovery begins this week with a trip to winless UTEP.

3. Marshall (3-1, 1-0 C-USA, Last week: No. 5)

Marshall might not be winning all that convincingly, but the Thundering Herd are winning, which can't be said about too many teams in the league this year. After a road win over Western Kentucky Saturday, Marshall is 3-1, with its only loss coming against unbeaten, No. 23 NC State. A big test comes Friday when Marshall hosts an ascendant Middle Tennessee State squad for the fast track in the C-USA East.

4. Southern Miss (2-2, 1-0 C-USA, Last week: No. 4)

The Golden Eagles played Auburn close on Saturday, keeping the score within one possession against the No. 10 team in the country for most of the second half. USM surely didn't want to be 2-2 at this point in the season, but the defense is still stingy, allowing 18.5 points per game, and the offense likely won't have to face a defense like Auburn's again this season.

5. Middle Tennessee State (2-2, 1-0 C-USA, Last week: No. 7)

Middle Tennessee State earned its first FBS win of 2018 on Saturday, edging out FAU 25-24. The Blue Raiders have a sympathetic resume this season, with two losses against SEC schools. But now with a win over the defending league champions on the log, MTSU has a legitimate chance to turn out an impressive 2018 campaign.

6. FAU (2-3, 0-1 C-USA, Last week: No. 3)

This might be the last week that FAU gets the benefit of the doubt. Losses to undefeated stalwarts like Oklahoma and UCF weren't only acceptable, they were expected. But for a team that went undefeated in C-USA play a year ago, starting off 0-1 isn't part of the plan. With a loss against Old Dominion this Saturday, it might be time to officially give up on FAU's chances. But a win before its bye week? Don't be shocked if FAU can steady itself for the second half of the year.

7. UAB (3-1, 1-0 C-USA, Last week: No. 8)

Give credit where it's due: UAB is quietly winning the games its supposed to this season. Wins over Bethune-Cookman, Tulane and Charlotte aren't going to rile up too many fans, but the Blazers are 3-1 and boast one of the most effective running games in C-USA. A trip to Ruston to face Louisiana Tech looms this Saturday, and a win in that game could mean the Blazers vaulting up the rankings toward the top.

8. FIU (3-2, 1-0 C-USA, Last week: No. 6)

Nothing against FIU, but it's drop has more to do with playing a cupcake in a week where the rest of the conference played real games. FIU rebounded from its Miami loss nicely, beating up on Arkansas-Pine Bluff 55-9. But now the Panthers head into a bye week before a matchup against Middle Tennessee State, so it'll be at least another week before we can see what FIU is really made of.

9. UTSA (2-3, 1-0 C-USA, Last week: No. 11)

How about the Roadrunners? After an 0-3 start, UTSA has won two in a row, including a league win last weekend over UTEP. The defense seems to be stabilizing a bit and Frank Wilson's squad has another winnable game to play Saturday against a reeling Rice team, making it plausible that UTSA could be .500 at the midpoint.

10. Old Dominion (1-4, 0-2 C-USA, Last week: No. 9)

Old Dominion is back down from its meteoric upset over Virginia Tech two weeks ago, coming off a 37-35 shootout loss against East Carolina. The good news? The offense is working. The bad news? The defense is still allowing 36 points per game and a matchup against FAU is coming up.

11. Western Kentucky (1-4, 0-1 C-USA, Last week: No. 10)

Remember all that talk about Marshall? Well, Western Kentucky didn't lose to the Thundering Herd all that badly. The Hilltoppers only lost by three points, the difference between a significant climb and a slight dip. Now WKU has a bye week to straighten things up.

12. Charlotte (2-3, 1-1 C-USA, Last week: No. 12)

Charlotte looked out-classed against UAB over the weekend, losing 28-7. In three losses this year, the 49ers have been beaten a combined 122-47. Like Western Kentucky, Charlotte has a bye to sort things out this week before a matchup against the Hilltoppers to see which team improved more during the week off.

13. Rice (1-4, 0-1 C-USA, Last week: No. 13)

Things didn't get much better for Rice on Saturday with a 56-24 loss against Wake Forest. The Owls are now allowing an unforgivable 42.4 points per game, the worst in C-USA and 125th out of 130 FBS teams. Maybe back-to-back home games can stabilize Rice. If not, Mike Bloomgren's first year as head coach might be one to forget.

14. UTEP (0-4, 0-1 C-USA, Last week: No. 14)

UTEP's reign as the worst team in the C-USA, and perhaps the worst team in Division I college football, continues. The Miners have squeaked up from offensive incapability to offensive ineptitude, averaging 15 points per game on the season. It's still the worst mark in the FBS, but hey, the Miners are within one point of the next worst team now. That's progress.